Environment

GROSSE POINTE FARMS — Officials are hoping to make it easier for Grosse Pointe Farms residents to recycle.

“We’re subsidizing (the cost of) the new, large recycling bins,” said City Councilman Louis Theros, chair of the city’s Budget and Audit Committee. “That’s a win-win for everyone. The more we recycle, the better it is for the environment.”

SOUTHFIELD — Officials at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality said they have plugged a leak of salt water and natural gas at an old oil and gas well.

Crews from the MDEQ discovered the leakage April 19 on Pembrooke Drive, south of 10 Mile, between Berg and Lahser roads, during a broad site evaluation for the exploratory well proposed at Word of Faith International Christian Center, 20000 W. Nine Mile Road. The old well is located about 1 1/2 miles from the church.

METRO DETROIT — Do you remember the first gift you gave to your mother?

If it wasn’t a macaroni necklace, there’s a good chance it was a freshly picked bouquet of bright dandelions.

So at what point did we decide while growing up that those happy, yellow flowers were actually an unsightly weed? For nature lovers like Dan Badgley, manager of the E.L. Johnson Nature Center in Bloomfield Hills, dandelions are a welcome lawn guest.

METRO DETROIT — Tiny pieces of plastic are able to cause a huge headache in the Great Lakes, and they primarily are coming from discarded litter found on the street.

Microplastics are remnants of larger pieces of plastic — like bags, utensils and bottles — that have degraded due to environmental factors into smaller and smaller pieces, according to International Joint Commission Commissioner Dereth Glance.

SOUTHFIELD — According to officials from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, in addition to a brine seep — which is essentially salt water — a natural gas leak has been discovered at an old oil and gas well.

Crews from the MDEQ discovered the leakage April 19 on Pembrooke Drive, south of 10 Mile, between Berg and Lahser roads, during a broad site evaluation for the exploratory well proposed at Word of Faith International Christian Center, 20000 W. Nine Mile Road. The old well is located about 1 1/2 miles away from the church.

WEST BLOOMFIELD — Sheiko Elementary fifth-grade students and township staff were schooled in environmental stewardship during the township’s Earth Day celebration April 22.

In conjunction with the West Bloomfield Parks and Recreation Commission, the township’s Development Services Department put together a day of environmental activities that taught the students about how they can protect Mother Earth.

GROSSE POINTES — Officials in the Grosse Pointe Public School System are still working to ensure that the drinking water in the district’s buildings is within the allowable levels for lead and copper, per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Water testing March 29-31 by Testing Engineers & Consultants Inc., or TEC, determined problem areas at six schools: the Barnes Early Childhood Center; Brownell and Pierce middle schools; and Defer, Kerby and Maire elementary schools.

METRO DETROIT — Climate models and existing data suggest that Michigan will be getting warmer in the coming years, with more frequent major storms and humid, stagnant air. A new report suggests that this would bring along a rash of public health concerns for residents as well.

Lead was found in the water at five buildings in the Farmington Public Schools district.

In an April 26 districtwide email, FPS Superintendent George Heitsch said the school district received the initial findings from its voluntary water sampling and analysis for lead and copper that was conducted by Arch Environmental Group April 16.

“As you may know, after the Flint water crisis, the district wanted to be proactive in testing our water as a precautionary measure,” Heitsch said in the email.

EASTPOINTE/ROSEVILLE — Macomb County determined that six Roseville schools and four East Detroit schools have earned at least a “green” designation in the county’s annual Green Schools program.

Kaiser Elementary and its Green Team won “evergreen” status for the third year in a row, the highest designation available. Other evergreen-winning schools include Fountain Elementary, Huron Park Elementary and Steenland Elementary, all in Roseville Community Schools.

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — In a 5-2 vote April 19, the Board of Trustees approved the final installation of wetland monitoring required by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality at Gene Shepherd Park for a cost not to exceed $7,000.

The MDEQ mandated that the township perform wetland monitoring and control invasive species in the park’s wetland restoration area for a minimum of three years as part of a consent judgment.

During the World Laughter Day Community Celebration and Pot Luck Lunch, the city will laugh to support Flint via Flintstock — a fundraiser for the children of Flint dealing with the water crisis.

“We’re bringing the music, bringing some information, and letting everybody know this could be your water too,” Mike Pritchard, Flintstock creator and director, said. “The problem is that our cities are falling apart.”

Earth Day is Friday, April 22, this year, and more than 1 billion people in 192 countries are expected to celebrate, according to Earth Day Network, an organization founded by organizers of the first Earth Day in 1970.

Did you know that habitats for monarch butterflies — those orange-and-black-winged beauties — are growing scarcer?

Members of Cadette Girl Scout Troop 75160, based in Troy, plan to complete an interactive monarch waystation on the southwest side of the interpretive building at the Lloyd A. Stage Nature Center by the end of May.

“Monarchs are struggling,” said Carla Reeb, director of the Troy Nature Society, which funds and operates the 100-acre nature center.